Pipe-cleaning brush



Sept. 16, 1969 H. WESSEL PIPE-CLEANING BRUSH 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.28. 1967 Hans Wessel IN VE N TOR.

r 00 Attorney Sept. 16, 1969 H. WESSEL 3,455,591

PIPE-CLEANING BRUSH Filed Dec. 28. 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 2

/ I I 1 1 Q t I rza' Hans Wessel INVENTOR.

. 5 BY gfp 6w Attorney Sept. 16, 1969 'H. WESSEL PIPE-CLEANING BRUSH 4Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 28. 1967 Hans Wessel IN VE N TOR.

Attorney Sept. 16, 1969 'H. WESSEL PIPE-CLEANING BRUSH 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed Dec. 28. 196'? Hans Wessel IN VE N TOR.

Attorney United States Patent O US. Cl. 15-10419 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE Pipe-cleaning brush with a cylindrically tubular body ofrubber or the like, internally clad with a flexible fabric liner andexternally provided with a pair of annular grooves adjacent its ends,the surface of the body between these grooves being formed with numerouspits to receive tufts of bristles; the body is seated, at least by itsends, on a rigid cylindrical support, which may be rotatably mounted ona central rod, and is under axial pressure from a pair of relativelydisplaceable end members whereby the array of bristles bulges outwardlywith the tubular body assuming a barrel-shaped configuration.

My present invention relates to a brush for the cleaning of pipes andother ducts such as, for example, the tubes of a boiler.

internal ridges, threads or other projections of a pipe to be cleaned,yielding inwardly when necessary and expanding again outwardly after theobstruction has been cleared.

A more particular object of this invention is to provide means in suchbrush for conveniently adjusting the shape' and, with it, the degree offlexibility of the bristle-carrying body whenever such resetting isrequired because of the fatiguing of the elastomeric material.

These objects are realized, pursuant to the present invention, by theprovision of a pipe-cleaning brush whose bristle-carrying cylindricalbody is of a tubular construction and rests, at least by its ends, on arigid cylindrical support between a pair of end members whose axialseparation is adjustable for the exertion of axial pressure upon thetubular body whereby the latter bulges outwardly to assume a generallybarrel-shaped configuration. This configuration is, of course, alsoshared by the surrounding set of bristles which advantageously formtufts set in a multiplicity of pits on the outer surface of the body. Tofacilitate its outward bulging, I prefer to provide the outer surface ofthe body with a pair of annular peripheral grooves at the support ends;a flexible but substantially inelastic inner liner, such as a fabricsheet, is advantageously bonded to or imbedded in the surface of thebody to strengthen it against excessive deformation.

The tubular bristle carrier of my improved brush may be made in a singlepiece, without any scams or joints, and can thus be manufactured notonly from natural rubber but also from a variety of synthetic elastomerswhich are not readily susceptible to heat sealing.

According to another advantageous feature of my invention, the rigidsupport for the tubular elastomeric body is rotatably journaled on anextension of a brush handle so that the array of bristles may turnfreely, e.g. when following a helicoidal channel on the inner wall of apipe to be cleaned.

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial sectional view of a pipe brush embodying myinvention;

f'a ICC FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing a modification ofthe previous embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1, illustrating a further embodiment.

Reference will first be made to FIG. 1 which shows a cylindricallytubular body 1 of rubber or other elastomeric material whose outersurface is formed with two annular peripheral grooves 10 at the ends andwith a multi plicity of pits 11 accommodating tufts of bristles 12between these grooves. A flexible but practically inelastic textileliner has been shown at 20.

Body 1 is mounted on a rigid support which comprises a cylindricalsleeve 2 terminating at a shoulder 29 in a flared skirt with afrustoconical portion 30 and a cylindrical portion 31. A flange 17 ofthe latter portion bears upon an end face 19' of body 1 and forms one oftwo end members adapted to exert axial pressure upon that body, theother end member being a collar 3 which is screwed onto a male thread 15of sleeve 2 and which has a flange 22 bearing upon the opposite face 19"of body 1. Lugs 16 and 18 on collar 3 and support portion 31 facilitaterelative manual rotation thereof to change the spacing between the twoflanges 17 and 22, thus enabling the exertion of axial pressure upon thebody 1 which thereupon bulges outwardly so that the tips of its bristles12 lie on a generally-barrel-shaped surface 12'. This outward bulging ofthe body 1 allows the bristles 12 to yield inwardly, without breaking orbuckling, whenever the brush encounters an obstruction within a pipe orother duct to be cleaned.

Sleeve 2 is rotatably mounted on a central rod 5 forming an axialextension of a handle 9. Rod 5 terminates at one end in a set ofperipheral ribs 24 by which it is anchored to a bell-shaped couplingmember 4 having a cylindrical mouth 26 with a female thread 23engageable with a complementary male thread on handle 9. The oppositeend 25 of member 4, connected with its mouth 26 through a taperedtransition portion 28, bears through a washer 8 upon the shoulder 29 toform one end stop for the latter, another end stop being constituted bya cap nut 13 which engages a male thread 14 on the projecting free endof rod 5 and which is integral with an eye 6; the latter may be used toanchor the brush to a cable for pulling it through a pipe and, duringperiods of non-use, also serves for suspending the brush from a hook. Acotter pin, not shown, may be driven through holes 7 in sleeve 2 andaligned holes in cap 13 for preventing any unscrewing thereof.

In FIG. 2, in which elements already described are given the samereference numerals as in FIG. 1 but with the addition of a suffix a,sleeve 2a is formed on opposite extremities with respective male threads15a and 24a engaged by relatively rotatable end members 3a and 38, theseend members being provided with respective lugs 16a and 18a tofacilitate their adjustment. A shoulder 33 adjacent thread 24a forms anend stop for member 38 which, in the assembly of the brush, is firstscrewed onto the sleeve 2a until it reaches its terminal position.Thereafter, member 3a is screwed onto thread 15a until the bristles 12aassume the desired barrel-shaped contour 12a. A hollow coupling member34 serves to lock the sleeve 2a against axial motion after being slidinto an extremity of rod 5a to which it may be secured by a cotter pinpassing through aligned holes 36 and 37; this member has rn-ale threads35 by which it may be fastened to a handle that has not been shown butmay be generally similar to handle 9.

In FIG. 3, where the suffix b has been used to designate elementsalready described and shown in preceding figures, rod 512 is integralwith eye. 6b and with a shoulder 14 forming one end stop for sleeve 2b;another end stop is constituted by a ring nut 59 which is screwed onto athread 46 on the opposite end of rod b and has an inner flange 47limiting its axial displacement toward shoulder 41. Bores 69 in theexposed surface of nut 5% facilitate its rotation by a suitable tool.Rod 5b is recessed between its enlarged ends 42 and 43 which alone servefor the rotatable support of sleeve 2b. The bulging shape of bristles12b has been indicated at 12b.

In FIG. 4, where elements previously identified have been given the samereference numerals with the suffix c, the support for tubular bodyincludes a cylinder 51 which underlies the major part of the innerperiphery of tubular body 10 and has an end flange 55 bearing axiallyupon the latter. Cylinder 51 is threaded at 53 onto a disk 48 which, inturn, is screwed onto a thread 49 of sleeve so as to come to restagainst a shoulder 50 thereof. An inner flange 52 of cylinder 51 rideson the remote end of sleeve 20 and confronts a disk 56 which is screwedonto a male thread 57 of the sleeve and has a flange 58 forming theother pressure-exerting end member of the supporting structure for body1c. In this embodiment, the presence of cylinder 51 positively preventsany inward deflection of body 1c whose outward curvature, parallelingthe bulging contour 120 of bristles 12c, has been indicated at 10. Theassembly of this brush is analogous to that described in connection withFIG. 2.

I claim:

1. A pipe-cleaning brush comprising a cylindrical tubular body ofelastorneric material; rigid cylindrical support means for said body andengaging the ends thereof; handle means connected with said supportmeans; a pair of end members mounted on said support means and havingfreedom of relative axial adjustment for exerting axial pressure uponsaid body, thereby causing same to bulge outwardly; and a set ofbristles extending generally radially outwardly from the periphery ofsaid body.

2. A pipe-cleaning brush as defined in claim 1 wherein the ends of saidbody are provided along their outer surfaces with respective annularperipheral grooves overlying said support means.

3. A pipe-cleaning brush as defined in claim 2 wherein said body isexternally formed with a multiplicity of pits between said grooves, saidbristles being arranged in tufts respectively received in said pits.

4. A pipe-cleaning brush as defined in claim 1 wherein said supportmeans includes a central sleeve, said handle means being provided withan extension rotatably surrounded by said sleeve.

5. A pipe-cleaning brush as defined in claim 4 wherein said extensionhas a free end projecting beyond said sleeve abutment means on said freeend for axially restraining said sleeve.

6. A pipe-cleaning brush as defined in claim 5, comprising an eyeintegral with said free end, said eye having a shoulder forming saidabutment means.

7. A pipe-cleaning brush as defined in claim 5 wherein said abutmentmeans includes a cap nut threadedly engaging said free end, furthercomprising an eye integral with said cap nut.

8. A pipe-cleaning brush as defined in claim 1 wherein at least one ofsaid end members is in threaded engagement with said support means.

9. A pipe-cleaning brush as defined in claim 1 wherein said supportmeans forms a throughgoing cylindrical surface underlying a major partof the inner periphery of said body.

10. A pipe-cleaning brush as defined in claim 1 wherein said body isprovided with a flexible but substantially inelastic inner liner.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,680,261 6/1954 Sorensen 151793,064,294 11/1962 Stocking 15l04.l9

EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

